Like Mother, Like Daughter
by Hope Mikaelson-Clarke
Summary: Disclaimer: I don't own Legacies. This story is being co-written by myself and LivwellisUltimate, so there will be 2 different styles of writing for the story.
1. The Start

Like Mother, Like Daughter

Chapter 1: The Start

**Summary:** Hope Mikaelson is nothing if not her mother's daughter. Falling for a "bad boy" that's just a couple... hundred... years older than her.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Legacies.

The second the calming spell left her lips; Hope knew something had shifted between her and Ryan. Actually, scratch that. Hope knew something had sifted between her and Ryan when he told her about his frat of his father. That's why she cast the calming spell in the first place. And the way Ryan looked at her when he thanked her, it had Hope feeling butterflies in her stomach. And before she knew what she was doing, Hope closed the already small distance between them and was pressing her lips to Ryan's.

And Ryan didn't disappoint. A split second after Hope's lips melded with his, Ryan was wrapping his arms around her body and laying them down on the ground. His lips moved from hers over to her jaw and then down to her neck as one of his hands molded around her breast. Soft moans were falling from Hope's lips as her hips started bucking up into Ryan's. But then Ryan move to undo Hope's jeans and she snapped back to the reality of their situation.

"Ryan... stop." Her voice was quiet, but in the emptiness that surrounded them, it was if she had yelled it.

"Did I do something wrong?" Ryan asked as he pulled back to look into Hope's eyes.

"It's not you. It's where we are, and what _he_ is capable of doing to women that end up here." Hope replied as she angrily blinked back hot tears and turned her head away from Ryan.

"Seylah was here alone after Triad turned on her, and he took pity on her. You are the one being that can destroy him. His drive to have a bloodline of his own is trumped by his self-preservation. So I see no reason for him to try and continue his bloodline by mixing it with the bloodline of the one person who can kill him." Ryan said as he moved off of Hope and pulled her into his lap. "Look at me, Hope. I will not let him hurt you. He will have to go through me before he ever gets to you. And I've waited years to be with you, I can wait until we find a way to get out of here to have sex with you."

"What do you mean you've waited years? The first time we met was in Kansas." Hope asked.

"When Seylah was released from here, I was released shortly after to act as a protector for the offspring. I shadowed him his entire life. And when he was in Mystic Falls a couple of years ago, I saw him interacting with you, and I was drawn to you. And I found myself shadowing you instead of him."

"You've been following me for two years?"

"Yes. And I know how creepy it sounds but I swear I never did anything other than keep an eye on you. I figured if Landon was drawn to you, then you had to be someone of importance."

Hope thought about Ryan's words in silence. She didn't move off of his lap, and he kept his arms wrapped loosely around her. If she was being honest with herself, then she had to admit that she had found him attractive the first time they met in Kansas but having been so focused on finding and saving Landon, she had pushed her thoughts and feelings for Ryan to the back of her mind. Then there was everything that happened in Maple Hollows, and Hope remembered how sexy she thought he looked wearing a leather jacket.

"Ryan... I don't know how we're both going to get out of here." Hope whispered.

"What do you mean?"

"Almost every time I've used magic, the vortex opens shortly after, pulling me towards it, but when you hold on to me, it closes. I don't think he wants you to leave."

"What about that invisibility spell? Could you place it on me and see if it allows you to take me with you?"

"We can try, but I fear it's a long shot."

"I'm willing to try anything, Hope. As long as we try together."

Hope moved to straddle Ryan's lap and took his face in her hands. Leaning in, Hope pulled Ryan in for a deep kiss. It didn't take long for them to end up right back where they had been, but this time, Hope didn't stop him as Ryan pulled her jeans and panties down. Hope watched with lust filled eyes as Ryan ran his hands up her thighs before dipping a hand between her legs and plunging two long fingers into her pussy.

"Oh god!" Hope moaned out.

"You like that?" Ryan asked as Hope nodded wordlessly. "If you like my fingers inside you, just wait until I have my dick inside you."

"Please Ryan, I need more."

"Gladly."

With his hand still between Hope's folds, Ryan used his free hand to remove his slacks and boxers before moving on top of Hope. The look on her face was pure ecstasy and Ryan was thrilled that he was giving that to her. Lining his dick up with her entrance, Ryan leaned down and captured Hope's lips with his as he pushed forward. The surprised gasp that fell from her lips was quickly replaced by moans, all of which were swallowed by Ryan.

"Don't stop Ryan! Feels so good!" Hope moaned when air became a necessity and the kiss broke.

"I don't plan on stopping, Sweetheart." Ryan replied in between kisses along Hope's neck and collarbone.

"Oh god! I'm close! Ryan! So close!"

"That's it, Hope. Cum for me."

Hope came second later with Ryan's name falling from her lips as a moaned prayer. Ryan came almost immediately after Hope, and then guilt washed over him. He continued moving inside of Hope to prolong her orgasm, but the moment she was done, he pulled out and looked away from her. Hope sat up slowly, watching as Ryan straightened his clothes and ignored her. After righting her own clothing, Hope placed a hand on Ryan's arm and lightly tugged until he was facing her.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry, Hope. I let myself forget..."

"You let yourself forget what?"

"That I'm sterile. Having you return my feelings and having you allow me to do what we just did... it helped me forget that I won't be able to give you a family if we both make it out of here."

"That's okay, Ryan."

"It shouldn't be okay, Hope. The second I reached my release, I felt empty. That I don't deserve to be happy with you. That I don't deserve to even think that you could be happy with me."

"Listen to me, Ryan. I don't care if you're sterile. I like you for who you are. You've been told your entire life that you're a failure but that's not true. When the time comes, and we're ready to start a family, we can look into other ways of having kids."

As the two shared another kiss, a laugh bubbled up from Hope's chest, causing her to pull away from Ryan.

"Why are you laughing?"

"Because I just realized... I'm exactly like my mom... falling for a guy that's a couple hundred years older than me."


	2. Getting Out

Like Mother, Like Daughter

Chapter 2: Getting Out

Hope had been thankful for the timing when she had pulled Ryan into Malivore with her. The full moon had just passed the week before, with the Miss Mystic Falls pageant happening towards the end of the week surrounding it, so she didn't think she would have to worry about the next month's full moon. She could change at will, yes, but because of that, her wolf genetics decided to mess with her differently during the full moon. And instead of a period every month or going through the pain of breaking all 206 bones in her body one night every month, Hope had had to endure a weeklong heat each month since she had triggered her werewolf curse. She hadn't considered that her sacrifice wouldn't work. She hadn't considered that she would still be alive, stuck inside Malivore, when the next full moon came around.

Sure, she and Ryan had had sex, and it had happened before the first full month that they had been stuck in Malivore, and she had told him that she loved him after they had made love, but when she felt the stirrings of her heat starting, she pushed it to the back of her mind. She had no idea if Ryan knew about what was necessary for a wolf to do in heat, and she really didn't want to have sex inside Malivore again, the knowledge and fear of what Malivore could do to women that were trapped inside of him, ever present in her mind, so she kept quiet on the matter altogether. The thought that ignoring her heat being a mistake never crossed Hope's mind. But as the days passed, the sensations got worse with each attempt at ignoring it. It was to the point where she was irritable, and if Ryan said anything, she would snap at him, before quickly apologizing and making up an excuse about being tired, or just on edge from being stuck inside Malivore. Especially with no way out. They had tried Ryan's suggestion of turning him invisible after Hope had gotten through her first heat without saying anything, and simply ignoring her and her wolf's most basic needs. It didn't work.

"_Invisque_." Hope spoke as she made Ryan invisible. The vortex opened a moment later, pulling Hope towards it, but out of instinct now, she and Ryan reached out for each other, and the second that their fingertips touched, the vortex closed and Hope growled.

"It's okay, Sweetheart. We'll think of something else." Ryan said as he helped Hope up from the ground and she broke the invisibility spell on him.

Hope could only nod meekly at his optimism. She didn't share his thought process. She found herself, instead, wondering how her family always found a way out of all of the impossible situations that they had been faced with over the years. Hope tried to think back to the times that she could remember, but nothing seemed to be fitting for her and Ryan's situation. Nothing about what she knew of what her

family had ever gone through was even remotely close to what she and Ryan were currently facing, so nothing that her family had done to get out of those situations were helpful to her now. She let out a groan before falling silent and mindlessly walking with Ryan next to her.

**Legacies – LMLD - Legacies**

The second full moon that she was stuck inside Malivore was worse than the first one. Hope had completely ignored what she needed previously, so she knew that she could do it again. Because she was not going to put herself or Ryan in a situation where Malivore could manipulate either of them and get her pregnant. While Ryan had assured her that Malivore's self-preservation outshined his desire to have a legitimate bloodline of his own, Hope didn't want to risk it. So once again, she ignored her needs to have sex, keeping quiet from mentioning her heats to Ryan. And as with before, when the sensations would come back after Hope would push them to the back of her mind, they would always come back stronger than before. Hope tried to think of other things. Of what she would say to her friends and family if they were to remember her. What she would tell her parents if they had still been alive. But most of all, she thought of the love that she felt for everyone in her life, and how much she had failed them by not destroying Malivore with her sacrifice.

**Legacies – LMLD - Legacies**

The next three months were no better than the first two. In fact, what Hope was feeling just got steadily worse every time that she ignored her heat. She could tell that Ryan was concerned, but she always passed it off as growing irritation over being trapped. She wasn't sure if Ryan actually _believed_ her when she told him that, but if he didn't, he didn't call her out on it. In fact, other than generic small talk that revolved around everything other than what had happened to her parents, they didn't talk much at all. Ryan stole a few kisses here and there but Hope never let it go further. By the time 5 months had come and gone, with no clearer picture of how they were going to get out, Hope had lost faith that they would be able to do it. And it didn't help that with each passing heat that she ignored, it got physically painful for her to continue to ignore them. She tried not to draw attention to that, either.

It was as she sat down cross-legged with a huff at the nearing of the 6th month in Malivore, folding her arms across her chest, and Ryan did the same that it came to her. And she had to groan for not thinking of it sooner. She really needed this to work. Scooting into Ryan's lap, she whispered what she was going to do. The previous two times had been because he was pissing her off, this time she needed him to come with her, and if they were connected with the mimic spell, then maybe, just maybe, when Malivore tried to expel her, he would expel Ryan as well.

"_Imitantor Pupulus_." Hope spoke clearly and stood up, with Ryan copying her movements while trying to resist the pull of magic.

It didn't take very long for the vortex to appear and for Hope to be pulled towards it. When Ryan didn't move with her, Hope reached out for him. Her mind quickly raced with everything she had learned about magic from Freya and Davina and spoke a variation of a summoning spell that Davina had once told her about.

"_Veni ergo mecum_."

Ryan was pulled towards Hope and they found themselves outside of Triad Industries in a flash of light. Hope quickly broke mimic spell and hurried to Ryan's side. He looked like he was in pain, and she hated the thought that she might have hurt him in some way with her last spell. If she had had any other ideas of spells that would get the both out, she would have grabbed Ryan's hand so that the vortex would have closed, but she had wanted to get them out of there.

"Ryan? Are you okay?" Hope asked as she kneeled by his side and leaned over him.

"Never better, Sweetheart." Ryan groaned as he squinted against the bright light of the sun and opened one eye to look up at her. "What was that last thing that you said? It didn't exactly sound like a common spell." He asked.

"It uh, was a variation of a summoning spell that my aunt once used on my step-grandfather. It was Latin for 'come with me now'. It was the only thing that I could think of since the mimic spell wasn't pulling you towards the vortex with me, and I wasn't going to leave you there." Hope explained as she lightly placed her hand over Ryan's heart.

"Just for future knowledge, being magically pulled through a vortex by a made up spell is very painful and I would prefer not to have to do that again." Ryan said as he took Hope's hand in his and brought it to his lips as he slowly sat up.

"Believe me, I don't anticipate us having to go through that again." Hope replied as she shifted uncomfortably.

"How long has it been since we went in?" Ryan asked as he glanced around.

"5 months." Hope whispered.

"How... how can you possibly know that, Hope?" Ryan questioned as he gave her a bewildered look.

"Um... well... I... kind of, sort of, go through a monthly heat since I triggered my curse. And it, uh, is linked to the full moon, since I don't have to change each month." Hope explained as she looked anywhere but at him.

"A monthly heat? Why didn't you say anything? All those times that you seemed so anxious, I thought it was just because we were literally trapped inside my father. But you were resisting... I would have helped you, Hope." Ryan said.

"I know, but I didn't want to risk _him_ doing something. I know you said his self-preservation trumped wanting to continue his bloodline, but there really is no telling what he would have done since I was refusing to leave without you." Hope said quickly.

"When is the next full moon?" Ryan asked.

"In a week and a half. But it's okay, Ryan, really. I'll be fine." Hope said with a wave of her hand.

"No, Hope, you won't. You have resisted giving into your primal urges for 5 months. We are going to find a place to stay for a few days and I'm going to take care of you." Ryan insisted as he stood up and pulled Hope up with him.

If anyone who had once known them had asked Hope after the fact how she and Ryan Clarke had ended up having sex against a tree, Hope wouldn't have been able to answer. One second she had gotten her footing after Ryan had helped her up, and the next she was pinned between Ryan's lean body and a tree trunk with Ryan moving inside her. The feeling of Ryan filling her pussy with his dick had the build up of the last 5 months come crashing down around Hope seconds later. Ryan had been right. If she had held off one more time from having sex while in heat, there was no telling what might have happened. As Hope was coming down from her high, Ryan reached between their bodies and pinched her clit causing Hope to moan out.

"Don't ever hide what you're feeling away from me again, Sweetheart." Ryan growled into Hope's ear. "The whole point of us being together in the first place was so that we were there for the other when we needed it." He added before Hope came undone a second time, pulling Ryan over the edge with her.

"That was better than last time." Hope muttered a few minutes later once she and Ryan had both come down from their highs, and Ryan had gently set her down on her feet.

"Answer me honestly, Hope. Why didn't you tell me what was going on? Did you not trust me to be able to take care of you? That I wouldn't be able to satisfy you properly?" Ryan asked.

"Ryan..." Hope started.

"Please be honest with me, Hope." Ryan begged.

"I was doing it for you. I didn't want to put us, put _you_, into a position where Malivore could manipulate things in his favor. I didn't want him to be able to torture you any more than he already has. I didn't think that it would get as bad as it did. I took a risk so that way you couldn't be hurt again." Hope explained.

"Hope, you being in any kind of pain _hurts_ me. I really wish you would have told me what was happening. I hate that you thought you needed to hide this from me to protect me." Ryan said before pressing his lips to her forehead.

Hope sighed as she wrapped her arms around Ryan's waist and leaned into his chest. She had thought that she was doing the best thing for both of them, but given Ryan's reaction to it all, and how much pain she had endured by ignoring it for as long as she had, that clearly hadn't been the case.

"I'm sorry Ryan." Hope muttered.

"Promise me you won't hide things like this from me again, Hope. I don't want to see you in any more pain." Ryan replied. "You've already been through enough." He added.


	3. When An Old Friend Calls

Like Mother, Like Daughter

Chapter 3: When An Old Friend Calls

Hope laid there in Ryan's arms in the bed of the hotel they we're currently staying in. It was outside of Georgia but not yet in Mystic Falls, a "nowhere town," so to speak. She didn't quite know where they were, but she hadn't been paying attention to her surroundings either. Instead her thoughts were centered on Ryan and what he had said right after they finished having sex for the first time following their escape from Malivore.

He wanted her to promise him that she would never hide anything from him again.

Hope understood why Ryan wanted this promise to be made. For five whole months she withheld knowledge of her heats and, in doing so, put herself through the unimaginable pain that came with ignoring them. She wanted to spare him but only succeeded in hurting him by hurting herself.

But could she make this promise? She didn't know what he meant when he said anything. Did he just mean the things that would hurt her? Or did he mean anything, like all of her secrets?

She hoped that it wasn't the latter. There were things that she wouldn't even admit to herself let alone to Ryan.

Hope sighed and pressed her back against his chest, feeling the warmth of his bare skin against her own and the leanness of his muscled chest. Heat pooled between her thighs but Hope closed her eyes, mentally berating her wolf. She wanted sleep, not sex. Okay, that was a lie, she wanted both, but she wanted sleep first.

Eventually she relaxed enough to fall asleep, oblivious to everything except for Ryan behind her.

**Legacies – LMLD - Legacies**

When Hope awoke the next morning it was to the feeling of something between her legs. Throwing off the covers, Hope was greeted with the sight of Ryan's head between her legs, lapping away at her pussy. Hope moaned at the sight and feeling, bringing her hand down to catch his hair in a firm grip, pressing his face against her heated center.

"Fuck, Ryan," she moaned.

Ryan redoubled his efforts when he heard her growing cries of pleasure. Running his tongue firmly up the length of her pussy, he buried two long fingers to the hilt inside of her, thrusting them to the rhythm of his tongue.

Hope's cries rose in pitch, her moans and gasps becoming growls and whines. "Yes, yes, that's it, just a little more," she whimpered, thighs shaking with the tension of her impending release.

Ryan took her clit into his mouth and sucked hard, his fingers reaching the deepest parts of her. With that, Hope shattered.

Hope came violently into Ryan's mouth as she tensed, her mouth falling open in a silent scream. For a moment she couldn't breathe, couldn't think. She only laid there, her mind focused on the pleasure running through her body as Ryan continued with his ministrations, gently coaxing her through the intensity of her orgasm.

When she finally came down from her high, Ryan was hovering over her, a proud smirk stretched across his lips. "Good morning," he said.

Hope finally caught her breath. "I'll say," she replied. "What was that for?"

The smug look never faded from his face as he observed her flushed face and heaving breasts, noting that her body was still trembling underneath him. "I thought I'd wake you up with a nice surprise, and judging by your reaction, I'd say it was a very nice surprise."

Hope closed her eyes, unwilling to let the familiar sensation fade away. She felt kisses on her neck and sighed contentedly. Being close to Ryan like this, skin to skin and sharing something known to only them, made her heart swell. The connection she felt to the golem was unlike anything she ever felt before. With him she felt like she could be herself; she could expose the worst part of herself without fear of judgment because he'd accept all of it. She could show him what being a Mikaelson was really like, why it made others despise the name, and it wouldn't scare him off. He'd love her for it.

"I love you," Hope whispered.

The kisses on her neck stopped. Ryan pulled his head away to meet her eyes. A gentle smile replaced his smirk as he replied, "I love you, too."

Ryan clasped one hand with Hope's, the other braced firmly against the headboard, and thrust his hips forward until he was buried deep inside of her. They both moaned loudly as he stretched her walls again, and Hope wrapped her legs around his waist to pull him closer.

Ryan straightened up and gripped both of her hips upon feeling her relax and started pounding roughly into her pussy. Instantly Hope began crying out beneath him, her nails coming up to scratch lightly down his back, causing him to moan.

"More!" Hope called out. "Keep going, Ryan, I need more!"

Ryan instantly responded to her pleas by fucking her harder, pulling her flush against him and letting his dick hit the deeper, most sensitive reaches of her pussy, making her squirm and writhe below him.

"I'm cumming, Ryan, I'm cumming!" Hope moaned, throwing her head back as she felt her release.

"Cum for me, Sweetheart," Ryan growled, thrusting hard into her once more, and Hope let out a sound that was between a scream and a howl as they both came together.

They froze in that position as they came down from their highs before Ryan slowly pulled out, earning a whine from Hope as he did.

Ryan fell onto his back next to her, pulling her into his arms as she curled into his chest. He rubbed her back softly and soothingly kissed her shoulders, her neck, her cheek, everywhere his lips could reach. Once she had calmed she fell asleep, Ryan following her. Both wore peaceful smiles on their faces.

**Legacies – LMLD - Legacies**

Later, during the evening, the two were checking out of the hotel as they discussed where they wanted to go next. They both decided that it was necessary for them to return to Mystic Falls, but neither of them wanted it to be their next stop.

"I want everyone to remember me," Hope was saying as they headed for the door. "But I'm not sure if I want to go back right away."

"We don't have to do anything you don't want," Ryan reassured her, linking their fingers together and bringing her hand up so he could kiss it. "If you want to go back now, then we will. If you don't, then we won't go anywhere near Mystic Falls. Either way, I'll follow you anywhere."

Hope smiled, opening her mouth to reply when she bumped into another body.

"I'm so sorry, I wasn't paying attention-" Hope began only to freeze when she looked up and saw who she had run into, the words disappearing from her head altogether.

It was Roman Sienna, her ex-boyfriend. He was staring at her in surprise.

Hope was about to speak, to apologize, introduce herself, anything that would distract him when he said something that brought her world to a sudden standstill.

"Hope? You're back?"


	4. A New Hope

Like Mother, Like Daughter

Chapter 4: A New Hope

"I can't believe it," Roman breathed as he stared at his ex-girlfriend, the girl that he still loved, in joyful surprise. "You're alive."

"Roman?" Hope's voice was barely above a whisper. "You remember me?"

Roman nodded and Hope, unable to contain herself over the sheer happiness of _someone _knowing her identity, launched herself into his arms, throwing her own around his neck and tugging him close to her.

Roman chuckled and returned her embrace, burying his face into her neck and breathing deeply, inhaling the tribrid's scent, the scent that kept him awake at night for five months as he tortured himself with thoughts like 'where is she?' and 'is she alive?'

But here she was, breathing and alive and as beautiful as she always was, in his arms. It was the second time ever in his near century of vampirism that he felt so lucky and, once again, Hope Mikaelson was the reason why. Their moment was interrupted by a throat clearing from behind Hope. Instantly Hope untangled herself from the blonde vampire, turning around to face Ryan, who was staring at the pair. Though the expression on his face was carefully guarded, Hope knew her lover well enough to recognize that he was unhappy about her reunion with Roman.

Hope instantly left Roman's side and stood in front of Ryan, reaching towards him and cradling his face in both of her hands. She planted a soft kiss to his lips and smiled reassuringly at him. Her actions earned her a small smile. Satisfied that she had put his mind at ease until later when they could actually discuss her previous relationship with the blonde vampire still standing behind her, Hope turned again to face Roman, Ryan standing close beside her.

"Roman," Hope began as she met his hazel eyes with her own light blue. "This is Ryan Clarke, my boyfriend."

Then, to Ryan, she said: "Ryan, this is Roman Sienna, my ex-boyfriend."

Ryan stared at Roman with dark, unblinking eyes. He remembered Roman from when he started watching Hope two years prior. The only things that he could really recall were that he had been Hope's classmate and that she liked him. Then he left the school and Hope dropped all means of communication with the older boy, but Ryan never discovered the reason why. Of course, by then, he had to redirect his attention back to his annoying, danger-prone little brother; as a result, he was forced to leave the tribrid alone.

Looking at Roman now, Ryan wondered why he had just happened to be in the exact same place as Hope, at the exact same time. The golem didn't believe in coincidences or chance circumstances; too many years of walking this earth, dealing with monsters, and keeping as much distance as possible from his father ensured that. Everything happened for a reason and everyone had an agenda. He didn't know whether or not Roman was really who he says or if this was just all one elaborate trick courtesy of his father, but he knew one thing for sure: if his presence endangered or harmed Hope in any way, Ryan would be the one to end him, preferably in the most painful way imaginable.

Roman, to his credit, stared back at Ryan despite the other man's steely glare. If he was intimidated by him at all, he didn't show it.

"Nice to meet you," he said, his voice calm but guarded.

"Likewise," Ryan replied shortly.

Hope looked nervously between the two. The tension between them was thick. The phrase "if looks could kill" came to mind as she observed them. Ryan's stare was unflinching, dislike and mistrust radiating from him, the feelings so powerful Hope was certain that Ryan was attempting to murder Roman with his eyes alone. Similarly, Roman was staring at Ryan with a neutral expression. There was no open hostility within her ex's gaze, but she knew Roman well enough that Ryan's animosity was mutual. Roman wasn't easily intimidated by anyone, and Ryan was no exception to that part of his personality.

"Roman, how do you know who I am?" Hope asked, finally breaking the uncomfortable silence.

Roman's gaze slid over to Hope and the vampire softened a little as he answered, "It's a long story. Could we go somewhere private to talk?"

It was a reasonable question given that they were about to have a discussion about the supernatural and a malignant pit that steals people's memories in a hotel lobby filled with unsuspecting humans, but Hope felt Ryan tense beside her when the words left Roman's mouth. Hope squeezed Ryan's hand in reassurance before leading both of them to the car. They all slid into the vehicle- Ryan in the driver's seat, Hope in passenger, and Roman in the back. When they were all settled, Hope turned around to look at Roman. Ryan remained motionless, glaring out the windshield.

"Okay, start talking," Hope said.

"It's a long story," Roman told her.

"We've got time," the tribrid replied.

Ryan scoffed quietly, wincing when his girlfriend hit his arm.

Roman sighed. "I was barely off campus when the Triad Agents showed up. So I went back to help. I heard the gunshots in Dr. Saltzman's office, and saw them bring you, Josie and Lizzie to the holding cell. When MG got you out, I followed you."

"You came to help me?" Hope asked.

"Yeah," Roman answered.

"How chivalrous of you," Ryan drawled sarcastically, earning a harder swat from Hope.

Hope gave Ryan a warning glare before returning her attention to Roman. "Go on," she encouraged him.

"You were faster than I was with getting to Georgia- how, I'm still not sure- and by the time I arrived, Landon was unconscious, and you were placing this guy," he explained, motioning to Ryan, "under a mimic spell. The second you fell into the pit, I jumped in too."

Hope blinked a little in shock. "You-You threw yourself into a bubbling, bottomless pit that you knew nothing about so you could help me?" She asked slowly.

Roman flushed slightly but nodded.

Hope felt a small smile stretch one side of her mouth and looked down.

"Anyway," Roman continued. "I was in this dark void for I don't know how long, looking for you and calling out your name but I never saw you. Then suddenly this big, swirling vortex appears and next thing I know, I'm spat back out in Triad Industries and I'm alone. I spent the next few months looking for you until I ended up here, at this hotel. I had this sense that I was supposed to be here, so I walk in and there you are."

Silence stretched for a few minutes before Hope broke it. "I still don't understand how you remember me. Anyone that goes into Malivore, that pit, is forgotten. You should have forgotten me," she said. While she was elated that someone remembered her, she was confused too. Even if Roman had also jumped into that pit, that shouldn't have negated the effects. He shouldn't have known who she was.

Roman seemed just as puzzled. "I really don't know," he admitted. "Maybe it's because I went in at the same time as you, too."

Another silence passed, longer than the last as Hope and Ryan sat, processing what Roman just told them. Then Ryan turned in his seat and asked the vampire, "How do we know what you're telling us is true?"

"Ryan!" Hope hissed, but the golem paid her no attention, his focus centered on Roman.

Roman laughed. "You think I'm lying?" He asked incredulously.

Ryan shrugged. "I just find it interesting that you're here in the same place with Hope. That you had a _sense_ that you were supposed to be at the hotel. My father sends monsters after her and his perfect child regularly. How do we know you're not working for him and making all of this up so you can eliminate his biggest threat?" He asked, his gaze on Roman growing more intense from suspicion.

Roman glared at him. "You think I'm trying to hurt Hope?" The tone of his voice was low, darkened by the other male's accusation.

"Are you?" Ryan returned dangerously.

"Okay, that's enough!" Hope quickly intervened. "Stop trying to play Alpha male, both of you. If we're going to figure out how we can get everyone to remember us, we're going to have to at least be civil."

"We?" Roman inquired.

"What do you mean _we_?" Ryan demanded.

Hope shot him an unamused glance. "_We _as in the three of us," she clarified. "We are the only ones who went into Malivore and came out with our memories intact. Obviously that means something. So we're going to coexist _peacefully_," she stared pointedly at Ryan, who rolled his eyes and turned back to resume his study of the windshield. The tribrid continued quickly before either of them could protest.

"The only way we can get those memories everyone lost of us is to work together. Understood?"

No answer.

Hope growled out, "_Understood_?"

Both men mumbled, "Yes."

Hope sighed as she turned in her seat, staring blankly out of her window while Ryan started the car and took off down the road, away from the hotel.

This was going to be difficult.


	5. Relationship Lows

Like Mother, Like Daughter

Chapter 5: Relationship Lows

Despite having just finished helping Hope through the last day of the first heat that he was aware of that morning, Ryan was tense. With Hope's insistence, Roman was going to be a traveling companion for them now, and that meant that he couldn't be as intimate with Hope as he wanted to be. Because there was no way in hell, which Ryan still didn't think actually existed, that he was going to be overly affection towards his girlfriend with her ex sitting in the backseat of the car. So instead of even looking at Hope, mainly out of concern for what he would do if he did, Ryan continued to glare out the windshield and gripped the steering wheel. If Hope were to ask later, he would tell her that it was better than the alternative, which would be glaring at Roman, and gripping the vampire's neck.

But as the hours stretched on, and they still hadn't even reached Louisiana yet, the silence, and Roman's little comments about them heading in the wrong direction to get to Mystic Falls, that filled the car were starting to get to Ryan. Before he completely lost it, Ryan abruptly pulled the car over and got out, clenching and unclenching his hands into fists, desperately wanting to punch the vampire, despite knowing that Hope wouldn't allow that. Hope frowned at Ryan and after giving Roman a stern look to stay put, she quickly got out of the car and walked over to where her boyfriend was muttering curses under his breath.

"What is going on, Ryan?" Hope asked as she folded her arms across her chest.

"I just needed some air." Ryan replied.

"That's bullshit Ryan. Tell me the truth." Hope snapped.

"You want the truth, Hope? Well the truth is that all I want to do is hold you. Touch you... show you how much I love you. But I have to hold myself back from doing that because your ex-boyfriend is now our travel buddy. The truth is that I don't trust him, Hope. And before you ask, yes, of course I trust _you_, but that doesn't mean my father isn't pulling the strings. I've been around for way too long to just accept that it's a happy coincidence that he happened upon us... upon you." Ryan said.

"I never asked you to hold back anything, Ryan." Hope commented as she moved to place a hand on his upper arm.

"I know you didn't, Hope, but can you honestly tell me that if I were to reach across the center console and start to pleasure you, with _him_ in the backseat, that you would be 100% okay with that?" Ryan asked.

"I... well, _no_, of course not Ryan. For starters, that could be extremely dangerous. Whether Roman's around or not." Hope replied.

"But that's exactly what I want to do. We still have 5 months' worth of built up Heat induced sexual tension to work through, Hope. And I hate that I can't just keep you in bed for the equivalent amount of time to make up for that." Ryan said with a sigh as he ran his hands through his hair and across his face. "Maybe if you told me why you broke up, and why you're so okay with him being around, it might make things easier for me to understand, because I wasn't around to see the fallout. I was back to having to keep an eye on my idiot brother by then. But I won't force you to tell me if you aren't ready." He added before pulling Hope in for a hug.

"For starters, we didn't officially go out on a date. I had a crush on him, he had a crush on me, but the circumstances weren't ideal for us to actually be boyfriend and girlfriend. It's just easier to call him my ex-boyfriend than to go into everything." Hope explained, biting her lower lip as she wrapped her arms around Ryan's waist and buried her face into his chest. "But none of that matters anymore, Ryan. I love _you_. I never loved Roman the way that I love you."

Ryan remained silent as he tucked Hope's head under his chin and simply held her close. They had only been out of Malivore for 2, almost 3 weeks, at most, but it felt like so much longer. But then again, they had spent most of the last few weeks in bed together, and the days had just sort of, blurred together, in the best way possible. He just wanted to get back to that, without the addition of Hope's ex-non-boyfriend. Pulling back slightly from the hug, Ryan tilted Hope's chin up and pressed his lips to hers while she jumped up into his arms. Ryan was still acutely aware that Roman was in the car, with a clear view of him and Hope, but with Hope's actions basically telling him she didn't care who saw them, Ryan couldn't bring himself to care in that moment, either.

When they finally broke apart and returned to the car, Ryan felt marginally better, and as he climbed back into the driver's seat after helping Hope into the passenger seat, Ryan locked eyes with Roman and smirked while the vampire simply rolled his eyes. Turning the car back on and pulling back onto the road, Ryan reached across the console and laced his hand together with Hope's, lifting her hand to his lips and pressing a kiss to the back of it. If Hope didn't want him to hold back, then he wouldn't. At least not completely. And as long as he kept a level head on his shoulders, then he could make do with having Hope's hand in his until they came to a stop at another motel.

**Legacies – LMLD – Legacies**

As they continued the drive from Georgia to New Orleans, Ryan stopped as often as they could to draw out the time it took to get back to Mystic Falls. It was nearing midnight, with only a few hours before they hit the Mississippi and Louisiana border that Ryan pulled into a yet another motel. It had been a couple of days since they had picked up Roman, and things had gotten marginally better, although nowhere near where Hope would have liked, but she would take what she could get. When Ryan requested two rooms, the guy behind the front desk asked if they wanted adjoining rooms, eyeing Hope with a smirk before his eyes flitted from Ryan to Roman, and Ryan quickly glared before growling that, no, they did not want adjoining rooms.

"Suit yourself. But I'm sure your girl would enjoy having the option."

"Actually, I wouldn't. Now, if you don't mind; we've been driving all day. So stop being a misogynistic asshole and give us the key cards for _**two**_ rooms that _**are**_ _**not**_ adjoining." Hope snapped, her eyes flashing gold.

"Relax Sweetheart." Ryan muttered into Hope's ear as he snatched the cards from the guy who looked absolutely terrified. "Thank you." He added as an afterthought as the trio walked out of the office and towards the rooms.

"Do you want me to go back in there and compel him to forget that we were here, and that your eyes just flashed gold?" Roman asked.

"Compel him to forget that my eyes flashed gold but wait until we leave in the morning to compel him to forget that we were here." Hope replied as Ryan pulled her closer to his side.

With a nod, Roman turned around and headed back to the office while Hope and Ryan moved to grab their few bags from the car. It was in that moment that Hope realized that they had slowly been collecting things here and there over the last few weeks. And that once they finally reached Mystic Falls, that she and Ryan would need to find a place to live. But until they got to New Orleans to get more of her clothes, and some money from Ryan's old apartment, they wouldn't be able to determine how big of a place they would need to get.

"Will one of you please clue me in on why we aren't heading back to Mystic Falls?" Roman asked as he made his way over to the car.

"That's none of your concern." Ryan replied.

"Roman, why are you so anxious for us to get back to Mystic Falls? Literally no one there is going to remember any of us." Hope inquired while slinging her bag onto her shoulder.

"We shouldn't talk about this in the open." Roman replied, glancing around.

"He didn't tell us the whole story... shocker." Ryan commented dryly.

Ryan couldn't help but roll his eyes at the fact that Roman hadn't told them the whole story when he had "coincidentally" ran into Ryan and Hope. With a deep sigh of frustration over holding back from throwing a punch at Roman, Ryan motioned for the vampire to go ahead of them before wrapping an arm across Hope's shoulders and pulling her close. Once they were in Hope and Ryan's room, Hope plopped down on the bed and gave Roman a look that expressed at least some degree of what Ryan himself was feeling.

"When Malivore spit me out, the first thing I did was make my way to Mystic Falls. I thought that maybe, if he had spit me out, that he might have spit you out too, and that you would be back there. I went looking for you." Roman explained, his eyes never straying from Hope's face.

"You mentioned that you've been wandering for close to 5 months? It wouldn't have taken you that long to realize I wasn't there, Roman. So what the hell is so important that we need to get back there?" Hope asked.

"Hope..." Roman trailed off.

"Just spit it out, Sienna. You're really pissing me off more than you already have been." Ryan growled.

"Landon and Josie are dating."

Those five words hung in the air. And for some reason, they had Ryan fuming even more than Roman's mere present did. How dare his brother do something like this to Hope? How dare Landon claim to love Hope, only to move on from her the second it was convenient for him to do so? Ryan had every intention in the minute to strangle his pathetic excuse of a younger brother the second they crossed paths again. At least he did until he glanced at Hope and saw her completely blank.

"Hope, Sweetheart, are you okay?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah... I'm okay. I want them to be happy. And if they're happy together, then I'm happy for them." Hope replied slowly.

"Is there anything else that we should know? Because if there is, tell us now. No more of this 'keeping parts to yourself' bullshit." Ryan questioned as he glanced over his shoulder to Roman.

"No... that's it." Roman said.

"What were you expecting to have happen when we reached Mystic Falls, if you hadn't told me about Landon and Josie?" Hope asked.

"I, uh, I don't know, Hope. I was torn between you finding out when we got back to Mystic Falls and seeing them together and giving you a heads up." Roman replied.

"You know from personal experience that I don't like being lied to, Roman. Whether it's an outright lie, or a lie by omission. You know better." Hope said in a small voice before she moved off of the bed and headed to the bathroom, making sure to slam the door behind her.

"Leave, now." Ryan said slowly with a glare at Roman.

With a nod, Roman grabbed his room key and headed out. He was kicking himself for hurting Hope... again. And from the way she had phrased the last thing she said... Roman figured she hadn't told her new boyfriend about how he had betrayed her 2 years ago. And while he was confused as to why she would keep that from the guy she loved, Roman didn't really blame her. He had broken her trust and while he would never be able to get that same original level of trust back, to have gotten some of it back, only to potentially broken it again... he didn't know if he would be okay with not having Hope's trust again.

**Legacies – LMLD – Legacies**

"Hope, Sweetheart, he's gone." Ryan said softly through the closed bathroom door.

Hope didn't reply, other than to get up from where she was sitting against the bathtub to unlock the door so that Ryan could come into the bathroom. Once Ryan was sitting down, Hope moved to be sitting on his lap and rested her head on his shoulder while he just lightly rubbed her arm and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"Do you want to talk about how he knows that you don't like being lied to?" Ryan asked slowly.

"Not really. But I don't want you to be in the dark about what happened between Roman and I." Hope replied with a sigh.

"Hope, if you're not ready to tell me, please don't feel obligated to do so. Whatever happened 2 years ago, you've forgiven him for it." Ryan said.

"That's just it, Ryan, I haven't forgiven him, and I honestly don't think I'll ever be able to forgive him fully for what happened, but with that said, I don't blame him for what happened anymore." Hope elaborated. "And I want to clear at least one thing up. When Roman and Landon first met, Landon got all Alpha Male, and tried to intimidate Roman, not that that's possible compared to what I did to Roman 2 years ago after we broke up. But Landon couldn't get past knowing what Roman had done and kept antagonizing both of us. It got to the point where Landon got fed up with me for not being angrier at Roman, and he stormed off. He ended up drinking with Penelope Park, Josie's ex-girlfriend, and Penelope told him the truth that I had been keeping from him. That I remembered Seylah after she dove into Malivore, even though he and Dr. Saltzman didn't. And he left again. That's when MG's mom abducted Landon and brought him to Triad." She explained.

"Wait... Mrs. Greasley is the mother of one of your friends?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah... why?" Hope inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"It was her idea to weaponize Malivore against the protected species. Against her own son." Ryan said with a frown.

"That bitch. She almost got Josie and any number of other students killed because of that idea." Hope growled.

"The jacket that you were wearing when we dove into the pit... it had a bullet hole on the sleeve. You were hit by one of the bullets, weren't you?"

"I was yes. The head Triad Agent, Burr, I think his name is... he found Josie, Lizzie and I in Dr. Saltzman's office, _'looking for the final artifact that would unlock Malivore'_, and we refused to help him, so he shot twice. Josie jumped in front of Lizzie, and I threw my arm out to protect them both, Josie was already hit, and the bullet deflected off of me. But we jumped ahead in the story, Ryan."

"Sorry... I just didn't realize that Veronica was the mother of one of the students at your school."

"Any way... the day that Landon and Roman met, the school was getting things ready for the Miss Mystic Falls pageant. Dr. Saltzman had called Roman back to the school to help out. When Landon left after he confronted me with what Penelope had told him, it was literal moments before the dance portion of the pageant, and Roman stepped in so that I wouldn't look like a fool for not having an escort. We didn't know that Landon had been abducted, just that he had taken off, and supposedly needed time to clear his head. After using a prism to manifest Landon from my subconscious- in which the simulation of him made me realize that I wasn't _listening_ to the message, I was just hearing it- Roman listened to the recording from Landon, and I mean truly listened to the background stuff, and helped me realize where Landon had been taken, and _who_ had taken him." Hope explained. "I gathered up my friends, and we were going to go rescue Landon, when Triad showed up. And that's when Burr shot me and Josie. MG helped us escape the holding cell, and I went off to save Landon. Apparently, Roman followed me. He mentioned not knowing how I managed to get so far ahead of him to be able to make it all the way to Georgia, kill Landon and place the mimic spell on you before he got there, but honestly, I don't even know. I know that I didn't turn to get there, or else I wouldn't have had anything to wear when I turned back. And I know I didn't take a car. But somehow I managed to outrun a vampire, without having vampire speed myself."

"Is it selfish of me to think that you broke Landon's neck as payback for him breaking mine? Especially with that spine whip."

"Not selfish at all. Because honestly, deep down, I had developed a crush on you back in Kansas." Hope replied. "And even though I thought you would try to stop me, I thought Landon snapping your neck was uncalled for." She added.

Ryan nodded and pressed a kiss to Hope's temple while wrapping his arms around her just a little bit tighter.

"Hope... why are you telling me about the day that Landon and Roman met?" Ryan asked softly.

"Because Landon couldn't get over his jealousy and hatred of Roman, even though I kept telling him that he had nothing to worry about. I don't want to repeat that experience." Hope replied with a sigh. "I get why you don't trust him. I don't fully trust him, either. But I can't keep punishing him for something that wasn't his fault. And I don't want other people to do so either." She added. "

"Okay... for you, and you only, I will try to be less standoffish towards him, but Hope, I don't like him being around you, regardless. I have a feeling that he wants you back. That he was hoping that when we got back to Mystic Falls, and you saw Landon and Josie together, that you would turn to him for comfort." Ryan said.

"I understand." Hope said with a small nod. "And thank you. I know what I just told you wasn't what you were wanting to hear, but it's something that I needed you to know. I promise that in time when I am able to talk about what happened, I will tell you." She added.

"Out of curiosity, why does Landon get to know what happened, but I don't?" Ryan asked.

"Honestly, I didn't think he would remember. When I told him what happened, without mentioning Roman's part, to begin with, it was when we first brought Rafael and Landon to the school. Landon had drank some coffee that had Vervain in it, so he couldn't be compelled. I thought that once the Vervain was out of his system, he would be compelled to forget everything that had happened, but because of him being Malivore's son, and therefore being a supernatural being, he can't be compelled. Then when Dr. Saltzman and I found him in Kansas with Seylah, I briefly mentioned Roman and what had happened." Hope replied. "Not that he remembers any of it currently."

"But he's going to, because we are going to try and figure out a way to bring everyone's memories back." Ryan said bitterly.

"Ryan... you have to understand that this particular topic... it's never been easy for me to talk about, because it's about how I lost my parents. As I said, when I first told Landon that my parents had died, I thought he was human and that we were going to be able to compel his memories away. But that didn't happen, so when we were talking about relationships after Kansas, I mentioned that my first kiss was with Roman, and what Roman did slipped into that." Hope said with a sigh as she moved off Ryan's lap and stood up.

"Do you not trust me enough yet to tell me what he did?" Ryan asked in a small voice as he clenched his hands into fists to keep himself from pulling Hope back down onto his lap.

"Is that what you really want to ask me? Or are you wanting to ask if I trusted Landon more than I trust you?" Hope questioned as she moved to lean against the sink.

"Both." Ryan replied.

"I don't trust people easily, Ryan, but in the entire time that we've known each other, I already trust you more than I ever trusted Landon. No matter what they were, you've always shown your intentions. Landon lied to me multiple times. Roman obliterated my trust and broke my heart. They both kept things from me, and I trusted them whole heartedly. I've learned from my experiences with them. I know that I don't have to worry about you betraying me or lying to me."

"But you want me to continue to trust you, _knowing_ that you aren't telling me the whole truth."

It was a statement that all but demanded an answer, and Hope's mouth fell open. She understood his frustration, because if the roles were reversed, she would be feeling the exact same way that he was. They hadn't talked about how she lost her parents while they were in Malivore, but now with Roman around, that conversation now seemed to be the breaking point in their relationship.

"I'm sorry, Ryan... I don't know what you want me to say." Hope commented in a small voice.

"I just want you to _show me_ that you trust me, instead of just telling me that you do. You didn't trust that I would be able to handle finding out about your heats, and you don't seem to trust me enough now to tell me how Roman is connected to the death of your parents. But my loser little brother knows. You know how I feel about being seen or treated as the inferior brother, Hope." Ryan said.

"You're my Mate, Ryan. You're the only one that can get me through my heats. And I told you before, it wasn't about not trusting you, it was about not trusting your father. I know now that it was a mistake to keep that from you. And I apologized for that." Hope said.

"What does one have to do with the other, Hope? Great... I'm your Mate. But that bit of information doesn't justify, or even make me feel remotely better, knowing that you won't tell me the truth, but that you told Landon. I just want to be an equal in this relationship, Hope. How the hell am I supposed to help you feel better if you don't tell me what's upsetting you?" Ryan asked as he finally stood up as well.

"You want to know what's upsetting me, Ryan? Every time I am forced to talk about what happened to my parents; I have to relive the truth that they both died because of me. And that leads to my uncle having died, because of me. I am the reason that I became an orphan at 15 years old. Yes, Roman has a connection to that, but it's all. On. Me. Yes, I told Landon. But when I first mentioned it to him, it was just after I almost mauled him when I had turned, and he wanted to know more about me. But that was before I ever met you. When I told him about Roman's connection to me and to my parents' deaths, I had just met you, but we hadn't actually said a single word to each other. So yeah, at that point, I trusted him more than I trusted you. But that's the fucking point. I. Didn't. Know. You. So I couldn't trust you yet. But none of that nullifies me trusting you now. I just don't like having to remind myself that my parents aren't here anymore because of me." Hope snapped before moving towards the bathroom door, only for Ryan to quickly reach out and grab her hand.

"Please don't walk away, Hope."

"I'm just going to go change for bed."

"Hope..."

"I love you Ryan, and clearly trusting each other is something that we both have to work on, but don't ever accuse me of trusting Landon more than you."

As Hope left the bathroom, Ryan ran his hands across his face before placing them on either side of the sink and staring at his reflection. He hadn't meant to accuse her of trusting Landon more than him, but after having been discarded by his father, his creator, in favor of finding a more "useful" offspring, it had left lasting damage on Ryan's psyche. It didn't help that Hope had been drawn to Landon. It just felt like the other shoe had dropped. First his father favored Landon, because Landon would be able to reproduce; and then to find out that Landon knew about what happened to Hope's parents, when he himself didn't... it cut deep. Made him feel even more like an inadequate partner for Hope than he had when they had first had sex.

Turning on the water in the sink, Ryan splashed his face with the liquid before grabbing a towel to drying the droplets away. He had told Hope twice now that if she wasn't ready to tell him about what happened between her and Roman, then that was fine, that he wouldn't push her to tell him. Then he went and pushed her anyway by throwing accusations in her face, and she walked away from him. Maybe not completely, but they were definitely not on good terms at the moment. He had gone back on his word in one conversation, and he was kicking himself for doing so. With a sigh, Ryan switched off the light in the bathroom and stepped into the hotel room. He had every intention of pulling Hope into his arms and apologizing for what he had done, but she was nowhere in sight. Panic washed over Ryan as he rushed towards the slightly opened door, flinging it the rest of the way open, and literally colliding with his girlfriend.


	6. Awkward Silences Are Awkward

Like Mother, Like Daughter

Chapter 6: Awkward Silences Are Awkward

"What the hell, Ryan?" Hope asked as she stepped back.

"You- you weren't in the room, Hope. I thought something bad had happened to you." Ryan said, sighing in relief that she wasn't hurt.

"I stepped outside to get some air. You know, so that I could calm down." Hope replied as she folded her arms across her chest. "And do you really think that if something had happened to me that you wouldn't have heard it?" She questioned.

"I panicked, Hope." Ryan snapped.

The second the words were out of his mouth, in the tone that he had used, Ryan regretted saying them in such a way. And looking at Hope's face, he knew he had further screwed up. And he was above groveling for forgiveness. He had tried that with his father and had ended up stuck in the darkness for years, being completely ignored. So instead he just turned around and headed back into the room. Mistake number 3.

"Are you fucking kidding me right now, Ryan?" Hope was seething as she stepped back into the room and closed the door. "You snapped at me and you won't even apologize?" She asked.

"You're right Hope, I am sorry. I'm sorry that you fell in love with someone that is as screwed up as I am. I'm sorry that I lose all rational thought the second that I think the worst has happened to you. I'm sorry that you have to be tied to me for the rest of your life because wolf decided to claim me as your Mate." Ryan said. "But I'm not sorry that I love you. Because despite everything that has happened since we met, you are the best thing that has ever happened to me."

"Screw you, Clarke."

"You already have, Sweetheart. Many times. And because I can't stand to see you in physical pain, you'll be continuing to screw me for as long as you live."

Neither of them registered Hope closing the distance between them until the slap she gave him resounded through the room. When she realized what she had done, Hope's eyes went wide and she stepped back from her boyfriend. But Ryan wouldn't let her get far. Reaching out, Ryan lightly grabbed Hope's wrist- his tenderness feeling out of place in the middle of a negatively heated moment- and pulled her back towards him. The intensity in which his eyes bored into Hope's had Hope concerned at what he was about to do, but at the same time, knew that he wouldn't do something that hurt her.

"Don't call me 'Clarke', Hope. And don't ever slap me again." Ryan warned before pressing his lips to hers in a hard kiss.

The kiss was like none they had ever shared before, and a part of Hope got excited at the prospect of exploring the different kinds of kisses that she and Ryan could have. But there was a bigger part of Hope that was still pissed at the man kissing her. He had said he wouldn't push her to tell him what had happened between her and Roman, that she could tell him when she was ready to do so, but then he went and pushed her away because of Landon. They needed to cut the Phoenix out of their relationship if they were going to make things work. Breaking the kiss, Hope lightly pushed Ryan away from her.

"I'm still pissed at you, Ryan. So for tonight at least, I don't want us sleeping in the same bed. Because of my Heats, sex will always be a big portion of our relationship, but I don't want us to give into temptation to have sex to try and fix arguments. So I'm going to sleep on the bed, and you can sleep somewhere else in the room." Hope said.

"There's a roll-away bed in the closet. I'll sleep on that." Ryan said with a frown while moving his hands to grip Hope's waist. "But for the record, I am sorry, Hope. I didn't _intend_ to push you to tell me anything before you were ready, but then you mentioned L- my brother knowing, and it set me off." He added while leaning in and pressing a kiss to Hope's forehead.

"I know. That's something else that we need to work on... cutting him out of our relationship. He's my past, you are my present and future." Hope said with a nod.

Moving away Ryan's embrace, Hope quickly changed for bed and slid under the covers, turning away from the man she loved. She heard him pull the roll-away bed out and get it set up before turning off the light, but once the light was off, Hope bit her bottom lip as tears welled in her eyes. They had really only been together for 3 weeks, and they had now had their first fight, and Hope hated it already. She knew that this wouldn't be the only one, but she dreaded how bad the next one would be. And as she lay there, silently crying, Hope felt cold. She had gotten so used to having Ryan's body pressed against hers at night, whether they were having sex or not, that she already missed it. After hours of sleep evading her, Hope pushed the covers back and climbed out of bed. Closing the distance between the bed and Ryan, Hope knelt down next to him and took Ryan's hand in hers.

"Ryan?" Hope asked, her voice a barely audible whisper, but resounding through the silent room just as loudly as the slap had.

"You said you didn't want to sleep in the same bed tonight, Sweetheart." Ryan muttered.

"That's the problem though. I can't _sleep_ at all. Promise me we won't do anything, and then come to bed." Hope said.

"Hope... you know that, aside from tonight's actions, I would never make you do anything you don't want to do. So if you're 100% sure that you want me back in bed with you, then we won't do anything." Ryan replied.

Hope nodded and tugged at Ryan's hand. Once they were back in the regular bed, Ryan draped an arm over Hope's waist and pulled her close while pressing a kiss to her shoulder. The second that the covers were pulled up and over their bodies, Hope was asleep and Ryan followed quickly after that.

**Legacies – LMLD – Legacies**

The following morning was tense as Hope and Ryan packed up their room and met Roman out by the car. When Ryan went to return the room keys, Hope climbed into the passenger seat and reclined the chair so that she could curl up and try and get some more sleep. Roman had wanted to apologize for keeping things from her again, but he didn't want to wake her up to do so. When Ryan climbed into the driver's seat and saw Hope asleep, he let out a sigh but didn't say anything. Instead he just turned the car on, took Hope's outstretched hand and drove towards New Orleans in silence. It wasn't until they reached the city limit sign that Roman broke the silence.

"What the hell are we doing in New Orleans?" Roman asked in a tense whisper.

"Look... you've been invited into Hope's family's home before, right?" Ryan questioned, eyeing his still sleeping girlfriend.

"Yeah, so?"

"And you know which room is her bedroom?"

"Yes."

Ryan growled at the smirk on the young vampire's face.

"I need you to get into her room and get some of her clothes without anyone in her family seeing you." Ryan said.

"Won't they eventually realize that her stuff is gone, if it's even still there to begin with?" Roman asked.

"You know what, forget it. I'll just get the stuff that I came for, and I'll take Hope shopping for new clothes once we're out of New Orleans." Ryan replied.

Roman simply shrugged and leaned back in his seat. As they passed Hope's family's home, however, a pit twisted in Roman's stomach, and Hope was quickly sitting up.

"Stop the car." Hope demanded and Ryan did as she said.

Before either of the guys could stop her, Hope was getting out of the car and walking towards the front door of the home she grew up in. Partially grew up in. Actually, she rarely grew up in this place, but it was still her family's home, and her family still lived there. That much she knew. Or, really, just Freya and Keelin lived there. Possibly Vincent. And occasionally Rebekah and Marcel. But that didn't matter. None of it did, because this was her home, and they were her family. And without conscious thought, Hope was walking through the front door without a problem and quickly making her way towards her room. But what she found when she reached what should have been her room, the one that she had shared with her mother, was not what she remembered. Instead the whole thing had been converted into a nursery and Hope's heart clenched. She had been replaced.

"Who the hell are you?"

Hope spun around at the sound of her Aunt Keelin's voice and opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Hope tried a couple more times but got the same result. So she stopped trying, choosing, instead, to just stand there, tears filling her eyes, as she stared at her aunt that didn't remember her. The only small comfort that Hope got out of this encounter was that it was Keelin, and not Freya, that had found her. Hope knew that it would hurt more if she came face to face with the aunt she shared blood with not remembering her.

"I asked you a question. Who the hell are you?" Keelin repeated.

"My name's Hope... Hope Clarke. I- I'm sorry. I'll just leave." Hope said as the tears started to fall.

Keelin blocked her path quickly and Hope wrapped her arms around herself to stop from wrapping them around the older woman. Something in the way Keelin was staring at her had Hope feeling a fleeting moment of hopefulness that memories of her were trying to fight their way to the forefront of Keelin's mind.

"We have pictures of you around the house. And on the walls at Rousseau's. Yet none of us know who you are. So let's try this again, and I'd like the truth. Who the hell are you?"

"Hope Mikaelson." Hope whispered. "I'm Klaus and Hayley's daughter. I sacrificed myself to try and save everyone that I love, and I failed. And now no one remembers me."

"What are you doing here then? Surely this can't be easy for you." Keelin asked.

"I was going to grab some of my clothes... but you guys changed my room... to a nursery." Hope replied.

"That's because this is mine and my wife's son's room. 6 months ago we came up here and didn't recognize who any of the stuff belonged to, so we packed it up. We didn't get rid of any of it though. Come with me, and you can take anything that you want." Keelin offered.

"Can I, can I go get my boyfriend to help me bring it all out to the car?" Hope asked.

"Of course."

Hope gave her aunt a grateful smile but didn't move to give the woman a hug. She would save that until she and Ryan found a way to bring back everyone's memories. Rushing down the stairs and out to the car, Hope grabbed Ryan's hand and started pulling him along with her, back towards the house. Shooting a look over her shoulder at Roman to stay with the car. Ryan gave Hope a curious look, but she just shook her head and led him up the stairs to where Keelin was waiting. Keelin didn't say anything either when she eyed Ryan, but simply motioned for them to follow her up to the attic. Once they were up there, Keelin offered Hope a duffle bag for the clothes and then left the couple alone to grab what they wanted from the piles of Hope's stuff.

"Was that one of your aunts?" Ryan asked.

"My Aunt Keelin. She married my Aunt Freya, and they apparently have a son that I didn't know about." Hope replied.

"How much of this would you like to take with us back to Mystic Falls?" Ryan questioned as Hope emptied boxes of clothes into the duffle bag.

"All of it. I don't know how long it's going to take us to find a way to bring back everyone's memories, so I'd rather have all of my stuff from home with us."

Ryan nodded as he went to pick up a stack of boxes, only for Hope to stop him. With a raised eyebrow, Ryan silently asked Hope what she was doing, but she simply muttered a spell and the boxes shrunk in size to make them easier to carry. Once Hope was done putting as many clothes into the duffle bag as she could, and shrunk the rest of the boxes, Ryan grabbed the boxes and they headed back downstairs. They had almost reached the ground floor when their path was blocked by Keelin.

"Did you take everything?" Keelin asked.

"Yes. I don't want to lose any of my stuff, and I'm sure that Freya will eventually want to get rid of the clutter. We're going to try and find a way to bring back everyone's memories, but we don't know how long that'll take, so I wanted all of my stuff with me back in Mystic Falls." Hope explained.

"So you're leaving New Orleans." Keelin stated.

"Yes. We just need to make one more stop and then we'll be gone." Ryan replied.

"Okay. I'll let my wife know that I decided to donate it. Good luck to you both, and I'll hopefully see you soon." Keelin said as she tentatively opened her arms and gave Hope a hug.

Hope stood there frozen, not sure if hugging her aunt back was the right move. Keelin seemed to pick up on that and let go before moving out of the way so that Hope and Ryan could head out to the car. Once they had loaded everything into the back of the car and climbed back into the front, Hope pulled her legs up, resting her chin on her knees as silent tears slid down her cheeks. Roman opened his mouth to say something, but Ryan shot him a sharp glare in the rearview mirror, and the vampire closed his mouth. The stop at Ryan's old apartment didn't take nearly as long as the stop at Hope's home, but when Ryan came out with an oversized duffle bag filled with what looked like cash, Roman couldn't keep quiet anymore.

"What the hell man? Did you rob a bank or something for going into the pit with Hope?" Roman asked.

"Not that it's any of your business, but no, I didn't. I don't trust banks very much, so I always kept the money that I saved with me. The landlord of this building is a supernatural being that evaded my father's capture, and although he never remembers me, he took to keeping a picture of me hidden in his office so that when I do come back, no matter how long it's been, he knows to let me in." Ryan explained. "And he knows not to do anything with my apartment if he ever suddenly forgets who lives there, because he has that information saved with my picture." He added.

Roman made a sound like he didn't believe Ryan, but Hope remained silent. Reaching across the console, Ryan offered Hope his hand, which she slowly took and laced their fingers together, and gave her hand a squeeze as he headed back towards the interstate so that they could make their way back to Mystic Falls.

**Legacies – LMLD – Legacies**

The drive from New Orleans to Mystic Falls was a quiet one. No one said anything to anyone, and Roman couldn't help but think that Hope and Ryan had had some sort of falling out that they were trying to cover up. But by the time that they finally reached Virginia, the awkwardness that filled the car shifted, and Hope started to get irritable. Roman had no idea why, but Ryan picked up on it and, despite there only being a couple hours left before reaching Mystic Falls, he found a motel for them to stay at for the week, which really confused Roman.

"Don't fucking worry about it, Roman." Hope snapped when he questioned it. "If you really want to get to Mystic Falls so badly, run or walk the rest of the way. It's not like it would take you that long." She added as Ryan ushered her into their room, leaving Roman staring at the closed door.

Despite their fight from a few days prior, Hope's need to have Ryan inside her pushed the awkwardness between them to the backs of their minds. The second the door was closed behind them, Ryan had Hope pinned against it, their mouths fused together, teeth nipping at each other's lips and clothes were being ripped from their bodies. The sun hadn't even fully set by the time that Ryan moved Hope to the bed and was pushing inside of her.

"Oh fuck, Ry!" Hope moaned as Ryan held her hands in one of his above her head and sucked on her neck. "I've missed this." She whispered.

"So have I, Sweetheart. But we have a week to get reacquainted with each other's bodies. And I plan on keeping you in this bed the entire time." Ryan replied against her neck.

"Tomorrow morning we should start looking for apartments or houses in Mystic Falls. We need a place to stay while we figure out how to bring everyone's memories back." Hope commented while rocking her hips against Ryan's.

"As long as we're naked and in this bed while we do that, I have no complaints about that idea."

Hope nodded wordlessly as she pulled Ryan in for a kiss. Ryan used Hope's attention being on the kiss to reach between their bodies and pinch her clit, propelling her into the first of many orgasms for the week.

**Legacies – LMLD – Legacies**

The following morning, as the sun just started to rise, Hope curled up into Ryan's side, resting her head on his chest, drawing random shapes with her fingertip while he soothingly rubbed her shoulder with his thumb. With the first night of her heat out of the way, the things that they had argued about came back to her. The main one being her having brought up Landon, causing Ryan's insecurities of being the lesser brother, the lesser son, to the surface. Hope hated herself for making him feel that way, especially since that hadn't been her intention when she had brought her ex-boyfriend up in the first place. Moving to straddle Ryan's lap, Hope took Ryan's hands in hers, pressing a kiss to the knuckles on both hands, and then laced their fingers together.

"Do you want to know one thing that you have that Landon never will?" Hope asked softly.

"Is now really the time to bring him up? I thought we were going to cut him out of our relationship?" Ryan questioned.

"Maybe not, and we are, but this is something that I think is important for you to know." Hope replied.

"Fine... what do I have that my brother never will?" Ryan asked.

"My everything. My entire being is yours, Ryan. I had thought, for a time, that he might have held a piece of my heart, but that is nothing compared to me being yours. My heart, my mind, my soul, my body... it's all for you, Ryan. You get to have me in your bed, and he never did, and he never will. One day, when we're ready and have figured out a way how, you will be the father of my children, and he never will. You are my Mate. The one that I want to spend the rest of my life with. The first eyes I see when I wake up in the morning, and the last ones I see when I go to sleep at night. The only one that I think about during every waking moment of the day, and dream about every moment of the night. I love you, Ryan Clarke. I am completely, 100%, in love with you, and that is something that I was never able to give to him."

"Hope..." Ryan started.

"I know, it's still early in our relationship, and it doesn't even begin to fix the trust issues that we both have. But I needed you to know that I love you more than I could have ever imagined loving him. And to me, you are the superior brother. You understand me in ways that he never could. You are my Epic Love." Hope said.

"Epic Love?" Ryan asked.

"The day before my first transformation, I passed out because of everything that was going on in my head. I saw my mom in this, Spirit World, I guess you could call it. She told me that I needed to go back to my dad, to live my life, and to have at least one Epic Love. I'm not entirely sure who hers was, but I know that you're mine." Hope explained.

"I know that it's hard to talk about, but please remember Hope, I was watching out for you during that time. And if I had known that Roman had had any part in the pain you went through over losing both of your parents in such a short period of time, I wouldn't have stayed in the shadows." Ryan said slowly, choosing each word carefully.

"What would you have done if you had known?" Hope asked.

"I- I don't know for sure, but I know that I would have hurt him just as badly as he hurt you." Ryan replied.

"I don't think anything anyone else could have done, short of killing him, would top what I did to him." Hope replied.

"What _did_ you do to him?" Ryan asked.

"I um, tortured him with magic. There are tunnels and cells, of sorts, under my family's home in New Orleans, and so my dad abducted him, and chained him up and then I tortured him." Hope explained.

"Remind me to never do anything close to what he did to you."

"I don't think you could. Besides, the rage that was fueling me that day, it's been destroyed. During my first transformation, my dad had Josie and Lizzie siphon that magic out of me and place it in him so that he could sacrifice himself and put an end to it."

"For what it's worth Hope, I am sorry that you had to endure so much so early in life. And I am sorry about pushing you to talk about your parents' deaths. When you're ready, I would love to know about them, and I promise, I won't push you on it this time."

Hope nodded slowly with a small smile. It was a step in the right direction towards mending their fight, which was better than nothing, and even better than digging in deeper with their fight. So Hope was going to take what she could get. Leaning down to press a light kiss to Ryan's lips, Hope moved off of him and grabbed the complimentary laptop that the hotel provided off of the desk before climbing back into bed and pulling the covers over her body.

"You want to start that now?" Ryan asked as he rolled onto his side and pressed a trail of kisses up Hope's arm, starting at her elbow and ending at her shoulder.

"I'd rather we know what's available sooner rather than later so that we have a chance to snag something as soon as we arrive in Mystic Falls. There's no way that I'll be able to immediately re-enroll at the school, and sadly, you don't pass as a teenager, so you can't be enrolled either. We need a place to stay. A place that's ours." Hope replied.

"What about the other one?" Ryan questioned.

"He can compel his way into anyone's home, or back into school if he so wished. But he's not staying with us." Hope said.

"Good. Because our fight aside, I really don't like not being able to show you as much affection as I was able to before he joined us."

With a smile and a quick kiss to Ryan's lips, Hope returned to pulling up her apartment search on the laptop. There were a handful of options that looked promising, but the one that really stood out to her was a one bed, one bath apartment, with an open concept living area that was situated around Town Square. With Ryan's approval of the location, and the price not being an issue, Hope called the landlord for the apartment and set up a viewing for it for a week out, with the promise of a cash payment. Their future was within their grasps, and Hope wasn't going to let it slip away.


End file.
